


Behind the Tapestry

by Farbautidottir



Series: The Thomas William Affairs [3]
Category: Actor RPF, British Actor RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-23
Updated: 2015-09-23
Packaged: 2018-04-22 23:42:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4855139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Farbautidottir/pseuds/Farbautidottir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tom Hiddleston's pal Benedict Cumberbatch has given him a last minute ticket to his weeknight Hamlet performance. Last open seat in the house, and it happens to be next to Andrea's seat...  story told in three quick parts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

My group demanded we arrive ridiculously early to the Hamlet performance, so I just went along with it all. They were off exploring the lobby, getting drinks, and I was sat in the theater in my seat already. I was on my phone tweeting or whatever and didn't look up at the person coming down my row until he slid into the seat next to me. At a glance, I quickly realized he was Tom Hiddleston. I looked at him for a long moment, long enough that he finally turned to me.

"Hello, sorry, is someone sitting here?" he said.

"No, I'm the end of my group." I said. 

He smiled and said, "You're American? Did you fly over just for this?"

I laughed and replied, "Sort of. My friends all are in love with Benedict Cumberbatch and bought tickets over a year ago. It's an eclectic group."

"Eclectic?"

"Yes... far-reaching too. I'm from New York, but the others are from Texas and then New South Wales in Australia and one lives in Worcestershire here in England."

"Worcestershire, really? I've not been there for ages. All the cider apples come from there."

"It's a beautiful area. I was there last in November. Well, November 2013." I said. "I don't much care for cider though."

"No?"

"More into beer."

"Good." he said.

"Is it good? Why is it good?" I asked.

Tom looked slightly uncomfortable and said, "Just talking, really. Sorry."

"Aren't we all... just talking, really?" I said looking at him somewhat directly.

He held my gaze a long time before taking a deep breath and letting out an ehehehe to himself.

"So, you've come to England before?" Tom asked.

"Yes, quite a few times, actually. I've been to a lot of England, and some of Wales. I've even been here before. Been to Hamlet before. It's all really been there, done that at this point." I laughed.

"But have you seen Ben play Hamlet, that's the real question." Tom smiled.

"And that's the reason I'm here." I said. "He's too good of an actor to pass it up. After learning too late about David Tennant's Hamlet and about your Coriolanus, I said, 'No, I'm going to see Cumberbatch do Hamlet.'"

"Well, you're in for a treat. I sat in during rehearsals and it's outstanding." Tom said.

"Good. I'm excited." I said then extended my hand to him, "I'm Andrea by the way."

"Tom," he said shaking my hand. He then added with a raised eyebrow, "But I think you may already know that."

"Quite." I said. "Embarrassingly so, yes."

"Embarrassingly?"

"You don't really even want to know." I said.

"No, now I definitely do."

"It's a long story."

"We have forty-five minutes until the five minute warning and our seats are together." he joked.

"Well, if I'm to tell it, you have to agree to have lunch with me tomorrow." I said.

"You dare barter?" he laughed.

"I hold the information." I smiled.

"True." he said.

"So?"

"So..." he said and stretched his arms a little bit in front of him. "So, I only just met you. It's a big commitment."

"I only just met you." I pointed out.

"True." he said.

We looked at each other and finally he looked away, laughing.

"What's your favorite part?" I asked.

"Of what?"

"Hamlet."

"This Hamlet?" he asked.

"General Hamlet. All Hamlet. Hamlet as an entity." I said.

"As an entity?" he smiled. "Hm, let me think."

"I love the scene where the guy is hiding behind the tapestry." I said. "To me that's the turning point of Hamlet's demise."

"Not Ophelia's death?"

"Most certainly not." I said. "His feelings for her wane too quickly for it to have borne any real distress when her death does come."

"No, I disagree."

"You should watch it again, and this time approach it with an open mind to this concept." I said.

"How lucky I am seeing it tonight." he grinned.

"Indeed." I smiled back at him. "So, then what was your favorite part of Coriolanus?"

"Oh, the journey. I loved how he is so high on life, at the top of his world, and then it comes crashing down around him."

"If only all men who were flagrantly arrogant assholes would be caught and gutted by their arch rival." I murmured.

"A tad medieval."

"Or perhaps Roman?" I suggested.

Tom laughed.

"So, you like Shakespeare?" he asked.

"I guess I do. Not like you, of course. It's more of an older interest, really. If I'm honest, I spend more time writing about you than reading Shakespeare."

"Writing about me?"

"Yes, that's the long story. In my rare spare time I write blog posts about you for my friends' website."

"I haven't agreed to lunch yet." Tom said.

"You will." I said.

"Oh?" Tom asked with a laugh.

"Anyway, I'm asking a lot of people this, but what do you listen to when you run? Like what type of music?"

"Are you going to write a blog post about this?" he asked.

"No, no one cares what music you listen to while you run." I said. "Okay, really probably people would care. But no, I'm not."

"Pop music, mostly."

"Hm," I said.

"What?"

"I just can't find anyone who listens to scores." I said.

"How many people have you asked? Surely someone does."

"I don't know, a few dozen by now." I shrugged. "No matter."

"Do you listen to scores? Film scores you mean?"

"Yes. All the time. Film, TV, video games. It's all about the chase scenes when you're running." I said.

"Do you run a lot?" he asked.

"No, I hate running." I said.

"What?" he laughed. "You're not making sense."

"This premise of this entire conversation makes no sense." I said.

"Aren't we all just talking?" he said with a little smile before adding pointedly, "Really?"

"See, we have an inside joke now. You're absolutely coming to lunch." I said.

Tom laughed and then nodded.

"You're right. I am." he said.


	2. Chapter 2

"What's the best way to reach you here?" Tom asked.

"Do you have an iphone?"

"Yes," he said.

"Then by text or video call. Connects through the wifi. Though I will only receive it when I have wifi."

"Well, give me your number." he said, pulling out his phone. I gave him it.

"When are you typically up?" I asked.

"Eight probably. What's tomorrow?"

"Wednesday."

"Right," he said, his brain working to recall what he had on tomorrow.

"We leave for Cardiff in the late afternoon." I said.

"Oh the group?"

"No, just me and one other person." I said. 

"I see." he said, not really listening as he looked at his calendar app. "I have a thing later as well."

"A thing?" I asked with raised eyebrows.

"A dinner." he said.

"A date?" I teased.

"I am not sure yet." he blushed.

"Ah," I said.

"Sorry,"

"No, no. Trust me, nothing to be sorry for."

"Sorry, it's weird. I'm sorry." he said.

"Truly Tom, I promise you it's not as weird as what is about to happen."

He looked at me with slight concern.

"Hey, they have a TARDIS in the lobby!" James said to me, coming down the row, about to pass by Tom. He looked down at Tom to say, "Excuse me."

"Sorry," Tom said and stood up so James could pass.

I held my breath. They were actually the same height. The same exact height.

Tom sat once James passed and James sat on the other side of me.

"They have a TARDIS!" James said again. "You should go see it. We have time. Becky was so excited."

"I've seen it." I said. "It's really cool."

"Oh, okay."

"I'll go," I said. There was a moment where I considered just leaving to go see the TARDIS. Finally I said, "I made a friend while you were gone. This is Tom. Tom, this is my husband, James."

"Hi," James said, waving at Tom from his seat. It only took a few seconds before he realized who Tom was. "Oh, you're Tom, Andrea's Tom."

"Am I?" Tom laughed and looked at me. 

"Um, James really likes tennis. We should talk about the US Open, which just finished Sunday." I said awkwardly.

"I love tennis." Tom said. He leaned forward slightly so he could talk to James, "What did you think about the final?"

"It was exciting. The semis were pretty good, too. Shame about Serena though, but she could pull it off next year."

"Agreed. She’s a powerhouse still."

"And the Australians this year! Federer played so well. I really hope he has a lot more years left."

"Me too," Tom said. "What do you think about Djokovich?"

"Eh, Andrea likes him. I still don't love him. He just doesn't play my favorite style." James said.

"I love his passion! His angry energy... he's like Rafa when they have that switch over moment and go in for the kill. It's so sexy." I said.

"I do like Djokovich," Tom admitted. "Not because he's sexy though. Federer on the other hand..."

"Roger is like poetry on the court. Plus he's so little. It's adorable." I said.

"This is my wife." James laughed.

"Yes, and I am her Tom, apparently." Tom said.

"I'm going to go see the TARDIS now. Pretend the Doctor is here... who knows, maybe he is?" I looked at Tom pointedly.

"No, never." he smiled.

"The Master perhaps?"

"Possibly I would agree to that." Tom said.

"Excellent." I said.

"What's happening?" James asked.

"We're going to see the TARDIS." Tom said, standing up. "You coming?"

"No, I want to take it in." James said.

"He likes theaters." I explained to Tom.

"Even the modern ones?"

"Just, go. You don't want to get him started on Lincoln Center." I said, pushing Tom's back slightly to make him move forward.

Once we got out of the seating area and into the foyer between the lobby and the theater, he grabbed my arm and turned me towards him.

"Married?" he said.

"I told you it was about to be weird." I said.

"Yes, but, you could've mentioned before."

"You could have noticed my wedding ring before." I said. "Besides, it's just lunch. You're the one with the date tomorrow, not me."

"You technically have a date every day." he said.

"That's actually really romantic when phrased like that." I said, slightly taken by surprise.

"Time and space?" Tom said after a moment.

"Please." I said, nodding.

He ushered me ahead of him, his hand lingering on my hip a moment as I was opening the door to the lobby. I stepped into the lobby and then stopped, immediately backing up.

"What?" Tom asked.

"There's a massive crowd of women by the TARDIS. You sure you want to go?" I asked him.

"I appreciate the concern." he grinned. "But I've been surrounded by women my entire life and I think I can manage."

I looked up at him, the dim lighting of the foyer ensconcing us in a quiet darkness. His eyes were alive with energy and I went up on my toes to kiss him on the cheek.

"What's that for?" he asked.

"You just look like magic right now." I said.

"Is that going on the blog?" he asked with an eyebrow wiggle.

"You're a bad man, Tom." I said and turned back to open the door.

Tom let out a laugh and said softly as he leaned closely to my ear, "You've no idea, Andrea."


	3. Chapter 3

My friends' reactions had been priceless. Dropped jaws, wide eyes, and an incessant giggle from Becky who kept apologizing multiple times before I told Tom quietly, "Go and hug her, quickly please." Tom went to her and Lena gave me a  _Really, really?_ look.

"I see you made a new friend." Lena said.

"James said there was a TARDIS." I said to her casually. "We came to see it."

"Yes, well, you know all about TARDISes." Lena smiled. "It's over there."

"Andrea!" Becky said to me loudly. Tom had released her and drifted back to my side.

"Becky!" I exclaimed back.

"We have to do pictures with the TARDIS. We have to be the companions, for Brian." she bubbled, referencing her husband.

"I don't want to be a companion." I said.

"Andrea is the Doctor." Tom said.

Everyone but me looked at him. I reached into my pocket and pull out my sonic screwdriver keychain.

"He's right." I said. "I am the Doctor."

The murmurs had begun by now. I began to step away from Tom as the crowd moved towards us, but his hand wrapped around my far side to stop my progress. He looked down at me and smiled.

"Can't I be your companion, Doctor?" he said.

"You may be my assistant. My plucky assistant. I might on occasion call you ducky, just to warn you." I said.

"Who's writing this script?" he laughed.

"I am." I said.

"Doctor and show runner both?" he asked.

"Did you think I had limits?" I asked quietly.

Tom smirked and looked away, through the crowd and at the TARDIS.

"Come on," I said, imitating David Tennant best I could and pulling Tom along by the wrist towards the TARDIS. My friends surrounded us, blocking out immediate access of the growing throng of estrogen. Becky's face was flush with excitement still. Tom and Doctor Who and Benedict Cumberbatch. It was too much for her.

When we got to the TARDIS, which was only some 15 feet away, I dropped Tom's arm and looked up at him.

"All of time and space, all that there ever was and ever will be... Where do you want to go first?" I asked him.

"Alfheim." he said with no hesitation.

"Alfheim is not a real place." I said.

I became aware people were recording us. This would be on tumblr in seconds.

"You said all of time and space, Doctor." he said. Then he pointed to his temple and said, "Alfheim exists in here. Is my mind not part of time and space?"

"It is and it isn't." I said, putting on my David Tennant Doctor voice again. "We can't go inside your imagination. I mean, we could, but it would be the last thing we did. Well, the last thing you did. I would be fine, but you would just sort of explode. It would be a bit messy."

"I don't mind messy." Tom said.

"No, I should think not." I said. "But you may mind sudden and explosive death."

Tom pretended to weigh this in his mind. I turned to Becky and asked, "Does it open?"

"Yes" she said.

"So, are you coming with me?" I asked Tom.

"Perhaps after Hamlet?" he said.

"Did I mention it's a time machine?"

"I inferred." he said.

"So?"

"So..." he said. "It's a bit of commitment."

"Yes," I said. "The best things in life often are."

"Like lunch?" he said.

"Exactly." I said.

"Yes." he said, his eyes flashing.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Oh yes!" he said, opening the TARDIS door and heading inside.

I started to follow after him, then cast a look back to the crowd, seeing only my friends despite there being scores of girls, phones dutifully in hand snapping and filming away. I gave a grin just as Tom called from inside the wooden structure in a voice loud enough for the entire crowd to hear, "It's bigger on the inside!"

"Timelady technology," I called over my shoulder.

"What?" he asked, popping his head back out, accidentally hitting my shoulder as he did.

"Timelady technology." I repeated in a lower voice.

"What's Time-Lady?" he asked.

"Me. It's my species." I said.

"Your what?"

"Species. You're Human, I'm Time-Lady. You're from Earth, I'm from..." I trailed off with a sadness, getting into the role.

"From where, Doctor?" Tom said. His voice was soft. He was in full acting mode now.

"A planet!" I said with a quick change of tone. "Come on."

I pushed his chest and he stumbled backwards into the tight space as I followed him in, closing the door behind us. It was pitch black once I closed it. They had constructed the TARDIS well.

"We only have a second" he whispered before pushing his lips to mine. He missed on the first try, his reddish blond stubble scraping my soft lips. We corrected ourselves quickly, kissing with some passion and a little bit of tongue before he pulled away. We separated our bodies and a second after that someone opened the door.

Tom exited first, tentatively, back in character. He looked back at me and said, "I thought you said this was a time machine?"

"It is. We've just moved through time." I said.

"Maybe five seconds." he pointed out with a scoff.

"Really? It felt like a lifetime to me." I said.

Tom laughed, unable to keep in character.

"Albeit a short lifetime. Perhaps a half-life, at best." I said. "You're sure you're Human?"

"No," he said. "I'm Asgardian."

Several girls squealed and Tom gave them a menacing Loki glare.

"You're not." I laughed. "You're much too cold for that race of mongrels. No, you'd be better suited on the Planet of the Ood. Maybe you’re Ood! Are you an Ood?"

Tom looked at me, unsure what an Ood was.

"You know, the spaghetti chin face." I said, motioning the appearance of the Ood on my own face. "The Ood. Humans enslaved them for thousands of years across dozens of galaxies. No? Not ringing any bells?"

Tom shook his head.

"Okay," I said, still in Doctor voice.

"Have we missed the play?" Tom asked.

"Oh no. We're just in time." I said and snapped my fingers. "Fifteen minute warning."

As if by magic, but truly by epic coincidence of timing, the PA system came on to say, "Tonight's performance of Hamlet will begin in fifteen minutes. Please kindly find your seats."

Tom grinned and said, "You're good, Doctor."

"Timeladies," I said with a shrug, closing the TARDIS door. "We do it better."

Tom took my arm into his and I gave his actions a Peter Capaldi style Doctor look that he rolled his eyes at, dragging me away from the TARDIS and back towards the theater doors.

"I don't want to miss a second of Benedict's performance." Tom said with gusto, still playing his companion role.

"I knew a Benedict once. Arnold was his last name." I said in my Doctor voice, which was shifting between the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth doctors without hesitation by now. "Bit of a traitor in the end, but rather honest about human nature in his public letters."

"This isn't that Benedict." Tom said, not missing a beat. "This is my Benedict and he's performing Shakespeare."

"All right, all right." I said. "But after this, I'm taking you to meet Shakespeare."

Tom stopped walking abruptly. I turned back to him, our arms having come unlinked.

"Really?" he asked.

"All of time and space." I said again.

"That would be..." he said.

"Amazing. I know." I said. "I met him once. Bit of an arse, really. But you might like him. Or he might like you, if you know I'm saying."

"Doctor," Tom said. "I'm not going his way."

"Good, fine." I said. "What way is that?"

Tom laughed, put his arm through mine again, and said, "Come on."

Once we were in the foyer he dropped my arm.

"You were amazing." he said.

"Oh no, you were amazing." I said. "Best companion ever."

"Best Doctor ever." he said to me.

"I was pretty good." I laughed. "Regardless, it's all over tumblr by now."

"Is it?"

"Oh yes, like wildfire."

"Okay, shake it off. Gotta go see James now." he said, emphasizing James’ name when he said.

"O what fate is this?" I said.

"He's coming to lunch tomorrow." Tom said.

"After our trip in the TARDIS, really?" I said.

"Yes, really." Tom said.

"All right." I said with a shrug, leading the way down the aisle back to our seats.


End file.
